A Chris Kunitz hat-trick helped the Pittsburgh Penguins thrash the Tampa Bay Lightning 8-1 on Wednesday, turning an eagerly anticipated clash of NHL divisional leaders into a mismatch.
Evgeni Malkin got Pittsburgh going with a goal just seven seconds into the game and the Penguins, playing for the first time since the Winter Classic, never looked back.
Alex Goligoski added a goal and set up three others as Pittsburgh scored four times on its first eight shots while opening a 5-0 lead in the first period. Chris Conner, Tyler Kennedy and Mark Letestu also scored for the Penguins.
PHOTO: AFP
STARS 4, BLACKHAWKS 2
In Chicago, Mike Ribeiro broke a tie midway through the second period with his second power-play goal and Dallas went on to beat Chicago.
Brenden Morrow also scored with the man advantage for Dallas. The Stars were 3-for-3 on the power play and Steve Ott added a short-handed, empty-net goal.
Fernando Pisani and Tomas Kopecky scored for Chicago. The Stanley Cup champion Blackhawks dropped to 12-11-0 at the United Center, where they were 29-8-4 last season.
CANUCKS 3, FLAMES 1
In Vancouver, the hosts beat Calgary to extend their winning streak to seven games and break a tie for the top spot in the overall NHL standings.
Roberto Luongo made 43 saves, only conceding when Tim Jackman netted with 11 seconds left.
Ryan Kesler, Kevin Bieksa and Daniel Sedin, with the 10,000th goal in the franchise’s 40-year history, scored for the streaking Canucks.
Fresh off a road sweep through Dallas, Colorado and San Jose, Vancouver hasn’t lost in regulation in a month.
In other NHL action, it was:
‧ Predators 4, Ducks 1
‧ Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1, OT
‧ Thrashers 3, Panthers 2
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